Warfare

Our traditional understanding of the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 hinges on studies of Chamberlain and his fellow statesmen, but what about the general population? Frederick Taylor's latest book, 1939: A People’s History (The War Nobody Wanted), details the reactions and fears of ordinary British and German people in the face of the slide to war, between the Munich Crisis of September 1938 and Hitler’s invasion of Poland a little under a year later. In this episode, he and Dan discuss whether the British people were ready for war.

During almost a century of life, Prince Philip dedicated seven decades to the service of Great Britain as the partner of Queen Elizabeth II. But in this episode of Warfare we’re going further back, to his time in the Royal Navy. Alex Churchill gives us a glimpse into the Duke of Edinburgh’s service during the Second World War, and the insight that this gives us into his character.© Matteo Omied / Alamy Stock Photo

What if the Battle of Britain had not been a success for the British? What was the plan had the Nazis successfully crossed the channel? Chris Pratt is the Curator of the Museum of the British Resistance Organisation, Parham Airfield. He joined James over a video call to talk about how the Auxiliary Units that made up the British resistance were formed, how they were trained and when, or whether, they came into use.The website for Parham Airfield Museum can be found here: http://www.parhamairfieldmuseum.co.uk/british-resistance-organisation/

In early 1900, Rudyard Kipling, Mary Kingsley and Arthur Conan Doyle crossed paths in South Africa during the Anglo-Boer War. Motivated in various ways by notions of duty, service, patriotism and jingoism, they were each shaped by the theatre of war. Sarah LeFanu joined Dan Snow to explore the cultural legacies, controversial reputations and influence on colonial policy of these three British writers.

Truth, rumour, conspiracy? Gill Bennett OBE had the job of sorting fact from fiction as chief historian of the Foreign Office from 1995-2005, and senior editor of its official history of British foreign policy, Documents on British Policy Overseas. During over thirty years as a historian at Whitehall, she provided historical advice to twelve foreign secretaries under six prime ministers, from Edward Heath to Tony Blair. In this conversation with James, Gill takes us through the biggest conspiracies of the World Wars. Her book can be found here: https://www.amazon.com/Zinoviev-Letter-Conspiracy-that-Never/dp/0198767307

During the changes and troubles of the 20th century, officials in Britain faced a huge question: how could they maintain imperial power? Dr Louis Halewood has been researching the troubles faced by British policy makers, and the efforts to maintain dominance with their dominions and allies as Pax Britannica came to a close. In this episode he speaks to James from the University of Plymouth about the development of British naval power, and explores the role of the United States in this emerging world.

Dr. Jamie Wood and Professor Niall Mackay at the University of York are mathematicians who love history. They released a paper which sent the rest of the history world into a meltdown when they tried to use the statistics of airframe losses from the Battle of Britain to test just how close Germany might have come to victory in the battle. This is a fantastic crossover between history and maths, and Dan loved chatting to these guys. 

In this episode of Warfare we hear about what was happening behind the closed doors of GCHQ during the 20th century, from somebody who has been given access to the files (a lot of them anyway!). Hear John Ferris, the authorised historian of GCHQ, and professor of History at the University of Calgary as he takes us through what he has learnt about the relationships between the governments and organisations of the world, and the secrets they have kept. Through his studies of signals intelligence (SIGINT) John takes us all the way back to the First World War to discuss whether it really ended in 1918, and right up to the Snowden scandal and changes that have emerged with cyber terrorism.

Dr. Jean-François Bélanger, a Postdoctoral Fellow specializing in nuclear proliferation, dives into the complex history of nuclear power. He unpacks the intricacies behind mutually assured destruction and discusses the balance of power among nuclear states. The conversation touches on the strategic decisions of past U.S. presidencies, including the controversial use of atomic bombs in WWII. Bélanger also addresses modern challenges like cybersecurity and urges for a cooperative approach to nuclear arms control to ensure global stability.

Katrin Himmler's great-uncle was Heinrich Himmler, head of the SS, and one of the principle architects of the Holocaust. Katrin has confronted her family legacy with a book, Die Brüder Himmler, translated into English as ‘The Himmler Brothers. A German Family History’. She is a German author and political scientist, and has also edited, together with the historian Michael Wildt, private letters from Himmler that had been only recently discovered in Israel. The Private Heinrich Himmler: Letters of a Mass Murderer was published in the UK last year. In conversation with James Holland, she discusses Himmler, his brothers, and reveal the burden of this Nazi family legacy. Recorded at Chalke Valley History Festival 2017. www.cvhf.org.uk